Ioun (Eye-ewn)

Ioun is the goddess of knowledge, prophecy and skill, and is a patron of the study of magic and mental power. Ioun’s church is relatively widespread in civilized lands, but has never held much power or political influence. Most Ioun clerics avoid politics whenever possible, content to instead seek out books, preserve knowledge, and share their love of learning. The church of Ioun usually maintains a temple or shrine in larger towns and cities, often as part of a larger museum, library, or academic institution.
Not surprisingly, Ioun has proven a favorite patron god amongst wizards, teachers, alchemists, and sages. Although Mystra is considered the God of Arcane Magic, Ioun stands for learning about magic and understanding the art.
Few temples dedicated to Ioun exist in small towns or villages, and they are practically nonexistent in wilderness areas. In centuries past, the church operated far more temples, and Ioun’s priests served as librarians, sages, and teachers in almost every nation.
During the Second Divine Warfare in the final battle against Tharizdun, she was severely wounded and had to be ushered away to her home plane, where it is said she is still recovering.

Tenets of Faith

Seek the perfection of your mind by bringing reason, perception, and emotion into balance with one another. To a cleric of Ioun, there is no greater gift than his mind. All of his clerics are expected to spend their time and efforts dedicated to learning as well as sharing knowledge. The faith seeks to help people to avoid extremes of emotion, with emphasis on planning and preparing rather than reacting to a situation. Most clerics of Ioun know a number of languages and are considered well versed, if not experts, in several areas of knowledge.
Accumulate, preserve, and distribute knowledge in all forms. Books, scrolls, and even oral stories are sacred to Ioun and his followers. Although this has always been an important tenet of the faith, it has become especially vital since Nerath’s downfall. Countless books have been lost, destroyed, or forgotten. Entire libraries lie buried or ruined. Clerics of Ioun are required to do what they can to recover knowledge, protect it from harm, and distribute their teachings. This concept points towards a fundamental belief of Ioun – the more you share knowledge, the harder it becomes to destroy or corrupt.
Be watchful at all times for the followers of Vecna. Oppose their schemes, unmask their secrets, and blind them with the light of truth and reason. Ioun and Vecna are ancient rivals. Although neither god espouses great passion or intense emotion, these two deities truly hate each other. Their bitter rivalry extends throughout the mortal religions of both gods. Whenever priests of Ioun encounter followers of Vecna, the outcome inevitably escalates to violence. Vecna’s faith represents an anathema to the god of knowledge; the two deities stand for widely divergent views towards knowledge and information.

Worship

Most clerics of Ioun are cloistered individuals. They pursue a set of specific duties related to learning or knowledge, each according to his gifts and preferences. There are brother librarians, healers, teachers, explorers, writers, and scribes.
Some priests of Ioun work for one of several small but active sects dedicated to locating, retrieving, and preserving books, scrolls, and similar works. One such sect, the Order of the Scroll, sends clerics into dangerous areas and places to recover lost knowledge. The Order of the Scroll has been known to raid dragon lairs, sneak into undead haunted tombs, and break into libraries of corrupt nobles in order to reclaim sacred books.
There are rumors and stories about a secretive Ioun sect known as the Followers of the Forbidden Tome. According to legends, the Followers actually seek out and destroy knowledge deemed to dangerous, cursed, or destructive for mortal minds. This often includes books and scrolls penned by Blight Mages or cultists devoted to the primordials. Most Ioun priests deny the existence of this sect, however, declaring that all knowledge is sacred; good or evil comes from how such knowledge is used, not the information itself.
Most clerics of Ioun are cloistered individuals. They pursue a set of specific duties related to learning or knowledge, each according to his gifts and preferences. There are brother librarians, healers, teachers, explorers, writers, and scribes.
Some priests of Ioun work for one of several small but active sects dedicated to locating, retrieving, and preserving books, scrolls, and similar works. One such sect, the Order of the Scroll, sends clerics into dangerous areas and places to recover lost knowledge. The Order of the Scroll has been known to raid dragon lairs, sneak into undead haunted tombs, and break into libraries of corrupt nobles in order to reclaim sacred books.

Symbol: Crook shaped like a stylized eye
Divine Classification: Goddess
Portfolio: Knowledge, Prophecy, Skill
Domains: Knowledge, Arcana
Alignment: Neutral
Home Plane: The Endless Athenaeum
Worshipers: Seers, Sages, Wizards, Sorcerers, Warlocks, Scholars
Cleric Alignments: N, LN, NG